I'm psyched! I bought a new big game rifle yesterday, a Remington Model 700 ADL Synthetic .30-06. I wasn't really planning on buying a new rifle but the price was too good to pass up. You know, one of those spur of the moment/good thing I have my VISA situations. I took it out to the range today and it is sweet! I'm still a "black rifle guy" though...it is completely black!

Anyway, for my question: for those of you who own and use this model rifle, what are the "must have" add-ons? The trigger seems crisp and it was shooting MOA at 100 yards with factory Remington 165gr ammo, so I'm happy for now with its performance. Are there nicer triggers I can put in? I wouldn't mind the trigger being a little lighter, but again, there is no creep and it is crisp. And as for the accuracy, it was excellent. I'm sure it can shoot better than I can, as I just got it.

One other question I have is if anyone here has used Hornady Light Magnum ammo? It advertises bringing a .30-06 up to a .300 Mag power level, but I am skeptical about that. Is that true, and if so, is it loaded to an (un?)safe pressure level?

Glad to hear you like it. My 700 ADL in .308 will shoot slightly under MOA if I let it cool between shots. Still it doesn't string too badly even if you heat the barrel up.

If a rifle shoots that well out of the box, I'd be hesitant to do more to it. The trigger can be adjusted easily; there are plenty of places on the web with instructions, Sniper Country for one.

I would recommend putting some sort of finish on the metal, however, as it's just blued and is pretty prone to rust. If you don't want to bother, coat it with Johnson's paste wax and you should be OK.

I wouldn't bother with the ammo you mention. The .30-06 is more than enough cartridge to take care of anything you're likely to hunt. If you need a more powerful round, that's the perfect excuse to buy another gun. Why shorten the life of your new rifle by using ammo on the upper end of the safety margin? If you want a .300 WinMag, buy one.

Thanks for the reply ken_mays. I agree with you on the use of non-standard pressure ammo now that you put it that way. I want this rifle to last a long time. Anyway, I am very interested in your comment on putting a more surable finish in the metal parts. That, I'd really be interested in knowing more about. What type of finish do you recommend and how do I go about getting that done? I always run a light coat of Breakfree CLP over my blued barrel on my Marlin 336CS and it's never rusted in the least. However, I would like to have a finish on the Remington 700 that would be more durable than standard blueing. I know this one will be heading out into the hunting fields (i.e. rain, snow, dirt, etc.) for years to come. What is the best finish to have done?

Just leave it alone. With a little care, the bluing will last a lot longer than you think. The only modification that I would consider would be to possibly convert it to a BDL style rifle in the future (detachable floorplate instead of the blind magazine).

Oh, Hornady Light Magnum ammunition is very much within SAAMI specifications (it may be loaded with something like VV High Energy powders). I still wouldn't buy it. Too expensive. Standard velocity .30-06 is more than adequate for most everything in North America.

Some of the changes you may wish to look at include either having the trigger reworked or replaced. The new Rem 700 triggers are normally pretty darned poor and a pain to adjust. The suggestion to convert the ADL to a BDL is very good and when you do this I would recomend buying a better stock to replace the plastic junk that Remington sells these with. I have a Rem 700 BDL/SS that used the same plastic stock and I replaced it with an H-S precision stock and it's MUCH better!

So, with a new trigger and a new stock you will have a very good rifle but these two upgrades will cost you as much as you paid for the rifle in the first place!

Anyway, I am very interested in your comment on putting a more surable finish in the metal parts. That, I'd really be interested in knowing more about. What type of finish do you recommend and how do I go about getting that done?

Either send it off to Mac to have it GunKoted, or do it yourself with any of the products Brownell's sells (teflon moly or baking lacquer) and your wife's oven.

A couple days of sitting in my reloading area in my garage and my 700 ADL had a light coating of rust on the exposed parts. The matte finish seems to be bad about this, but the rust was easily removed. Since this is going to be my "drag it through the mud" rifle, it wouldn't be a bad idea to put something a little more element-resistant on there.